Part 20 (1/2)
”What shall you name him, Alice?”
”There can be but one name for him. G.o.d sent us two little girls, but took them back again. We both wished for a son, and Heaven has sent one, but has taken the father from us.”
”And you will name him--”
”Quincy Adams Sawyer, Junior,” was the answer. ”It is his birthright.”
”But,” said Aunt Ella, ”they never add Junior to a boy's name unless his father is living.”
Alice sat up in bed, and her eyes flashed as she said,
”My heart has renewed its hope with this young life. I believe my husband still lives, and, until I have conclusive proofs of his death, our son's name will be Quincy Adams Sawyer, Junior.”
CHAPTER XIII
”HORNABY HOOK”
Time, it is said, will dull the deepest sorrow. There are some who put out of sight everything to remind them of the lost one, while others treasure every memento, and never tire of recalling the virtues of the departed.
In Alice's case the presence of her little boy was a constant reminder of her husband. In Aunt Ella she found a willing listener, and talking of her past happy married life aided greatly in restoring her nerve power and improving her general health.
She said one day, ”Aunt Ella, don't you think it better to face your troubles bravely than to fly away from them?”
”I certainly do. You are following the right course, Alice; the same as I did when Robert died. Your parting with Quincy was sad, inexpressibly so, but imagine my feelings to awake and find my husband dead in the bed beside me. Did I try to forget him? You remember his rooms in the Mount Vernon Street house. They became my Mecca--the place to which I went when I had a 'blue fit,' or was depressed in any way. G.o.d has sent you a child to keep your husband's memory fresh. I repeat, Alice, you are doing the right thing.”
”I do it,” said Alice, ”for two reasons. One is that it makes me happy.
The other is, that believing that my husband still lives, I wish to bring up his son so that he will be proud of him.”
Florence, after awhile, made a confidante of Aunt Ella and told her about Captain Hornaby. She confessed her interest in him and said that notwithstanding his crime she loved him, but that her father would never forgive him.
”What part of England did he come from?” asked Aunt Ella.
”He said from Hornaby--that the place was named after his family. Their home was called Hornaby Hook, because, as he said, it was built upon a promontory in the form of a hook.”
”What is his father's name?”
”Sir Wilfred, and Reginald is the fourth son.”
”No chance of his ever getting the t.i.tle,” remarked Aunt Ella.
”I wonder where Hornaby Hook is,” said Florence.
”That's easily found out. Linda has _Burke's Peerage_ and I'll write to her to-day.”
Lady Fernborough more than kept her promise, for in her letter she told the Countess Florence's unhappy love story besides asking for information about the Hornaby family.
Linda's reply was a revelation.